


Home Is Where the Heart Is

by I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own



Series: Suilad Aran Thranduil [34]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: implied character deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-06
Updated: 2015-02-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 18:31:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3299588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own/pseuds/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You will never return home."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home Is Where the Heart Is

**Author's Note:**

> I experienced a day where my muses wouldn't stop fighting, and Legolas came out the victor, resulting in this little piece. I am writing expansion pieces for the little glimpses this fic gives. So anything related to this little fic is going to be going into its own series. :) 
> 
> Emphasized 'they', 'their', 'they're', and etc are all references to the Valar. 
> 
> And yes, I am screwing with canon again. :)

_They_ allow him to go back, him and all those who wish to go with him. But _they_ give them all a parting gift, a parting gift meant to hurt them for the rest of their lives. They can never return here.

_“You will never return home.”_

_They_ do not understand, he’s not sure they ever will.

_“No, I’m returning home, I will never return here.”_

_Their_ gift harms him still, him and all the others. They may never return, but the longing will never cease. They are returning home to where their hearts are, but their hearts will always be called, and they can never answer. They think they will be alright with that, in time.

* * *

His father cries. Holds him so tight he thinks he might break. His father cries and doesn’t care who sees. His father’s heart has been breaking slowly for years, either it has broken completely now, or it has been made whole. He is not sure which. He will find out, in time.

* * *

Their home will not diminish, they will not allow it. They will endure as they always have. Time will not destroy them. They will survive as they always have. They will not be erased.

* * *

He thinks that perhaps  _they_ are still playing games with him,  _they_ have to be. He doesn’t know how to explain it otherwise.

_“It’s not fair.”_

He hasn’t been so petulant since he was a child. Since long before his mother died.

_“Oh, hush. In time you will forget me. In time you will love another. Don’t destroy these last days we have together with sadness, you’ll regret it.”_

_They_ have to still be playing with him. Because now his heart is going somewhere he cannot follow.

_“We were supposed to have forever.”_

She is not the only thing _they_ take from him, but she is the first.

* * *

His second marriage ends much the same as his first, except this one was doomed from the start.

_“To love a mortal is to court death.”_

* * *

 

His third marriage is promising. Their family grows, but like all things where his happiness is concerned, it is not to last.

_“Papa, mama says the fever will take me like it will take her.”_

His heart has never beat so painfully in his chest. Strange that every time he gives it away, it comes back to him more broken than before.

_“Mama is just tired, sweetheart. She doesn’t know what she is saying.”_

But of course she does.

* * *

 

He seeks comfort where he has always sought it.

 _“I can’t do this anymore, father._ They _will never let me be.”_

His father’s grief is almost as palpable as his own. It always has been.

 _“Give_ them _time, child._ They _will remember_ they _are not spiteful children, that the things_ they _are playing with are not toys. You will get through this.”_

* * *

_They_ come to him in a dream.

_“Forgive us, it was not our intention to-“_

He forces himself to wake up.

 _They_ will not take his dreams from him too.

* * *

His mother decides she will not put up with the sadness any longer.

_“Time cannot heal if you do not let it pass.”_

She forces them to move past their grief. To exist like one day their lives will be alright again.

_“There is no shame in surviving.”_

She forces them to see that with each day that passes, their memories do not diminish.

* * *

His mother is right, as she often is. With time, he heals, becomes alright. He allows himself to love again. It comes as a great shock when this time it is him that falls ill.

_“But mummy says you aren’t like other daddies. Mummy says you’re forever.”_

His breath catches in his throat. His chest is tight. Every muscle aches. He had almost forgotten the feel of physical pain.

_“Listen to your mother, honey, she knows what she’s talking about.”_

And of course she does.

_“You’re not going to die right, daddy?”_

His recovery is a miracle. But he doesn’t believe in those things anymore.

_“Of course not, honey. I’m forever, remember?”_

* * *

When his wife dies, it is peacefully of old age.

_“If I see my predecessors, I’ll give them your love. We’ll share stories.”_

He laughs despite the tears in his eyes.

_“Not the bad ones, I hope.”_

It has never gotten easier to give his heart away, knowing it will come back to him broken.

_“Of course not, love. There are no bad ones to share.”_

But he gives it away all the same. Love is worth the risk.

* * *

_“Mother. I need to speak with you, in private.”_

It astounds him that they didn’t figure this out sooner.

_“What is the matter?”_

The words circle around his head, but they do not allow themselves to fall from his lips.

_“I... how is father? I worry for him.”_

His mother never makes him feel like he’s being stupid. It’s times like this he can see why his father married her.

_“Oh, honey, your father is fine. Might be a bit cranky, we’re out of wine, but that’s nothing terribly unusual. I’m sure if you talk to him, he won’t hide from you, sweetheart.”_

He cannot bear to be the giver of bad news. But he knows one day her smile will be dimmer, and her eyes will be red with tears. Still, he remains silent.

* * *

He understands the curse now.

_“You will never return home.”_

Home is where the heart is, and a great deal of his heart…

… is _dead_.


End file.
